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The Effect of Long-term Momordica Charantia Supplementation on Blood Glucose Levels

The Effect of Long-term Momordica Charantia Supplementation on Blood Glucose Levels

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT05215210
Acronym
Bitter-Zoet 2
Enrollment
40
Registered
2022-01-31
Start date
2022-03-23
Completion date
2022-06-30
Last updated
2022-11-07

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Glucose, High Blood, Impaired Glucose Tolerance

Keywords

bitter gourd, pre-diabetes, fasting blood glucose

Brief summary

The study is a parallel, double blind, controlled trial in which study participants will receive a 12-week intervention with 3.6 g/d dried bitter-gourd supplements or a reference intervention with 3.6 g/d dried cucumber supplements. Research subjects will come to the research facility for a test day on four occasions, with an interval of 4 weeks. The main study parameter is fasting levels of plasma glucose.

Detailed description

Bitter gourd (BG) (Momordica charantia) is a highly nutritive vegetable from the cucumber family. The objective is to assess the impact of 12-weeks of BG supplementation on blood glucose levels in subjects with impaired fasting glucose levels. In a previous trial (Bitter-Zoet NL70259.081.19) the short-term effects of BG (4 weeks) were studied, but no effect was observed. In the current trial a different BG cultivar is chosen, the intervention period is prolonged, the dosage per day is higher and study subjects with slightly higher fasting blood glucose levels will be included. The study is a parallel, double blind, controlled trial in which study participants will receive a 12-week intervention with 3.6 g/d dried bitter-gourd supplements or a reference intervention with 3.6 g/d dried cucumber supplements. Research subjects will come to the research facility for a test day on four occasions, with an interval of 4 weeks. The main study parameter is fasting levels of plasma glucose. Secondary outcome measures are glucose tolerance, HbA1c, insulin and HOMA-IR and HOMA-B levels.

Interventions

OTHERBitter-gourd

12-week intervention of 3.6 grams of dried bitter-gourd supplements

OTHERCucumber

12-week intervention of 3.6 grams of cucumber supplements

Sponsors

Wageningen University and Research
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
TRIPLE (Subject, Caregiver, Investigator)

Masking description

Supplements will be labeled A and B by a scientist who is not involved in this trial.

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
40 Years to 75 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* age 40-75yrs * BMI \>25 kg/m2 * Having a fasting glucose \>6.1 mmol/L

Exclusion criteria

* Use of medication/supplements that may influence the study results, such as metformin, gliclazide, glimepiride, tolbutamide, insulin, sitagliptin (DPP4 inhibitor), liraglutide (GLP-1 agonist), acarbose, repaglinide, pioglitazone, corticosteroids (systemically) , SGLT-2 inhibitors, (judged by our research physician) * Having a fasting glucose \>11.0 mmol/L * History of gastro-intestinal surgery or having (serious) gastro-intestinal complaints * History of liver dysfunction (cirrhosis, hepatitis) or liver surgery * Reported slimming, medically prescribed or other extreme diets * Reported weight loss or weight gain of \> 5 kg in the month prior to pre-study screening * Not willing to give up blood donation during the study * Current smokers * Alcohol intake ≥14 glasses (women) or \>21 glasses (men) of alcoholic beverages per week, on average * pregnant or lactating (self-reported) * Abuse of illicit drugs (soft- and hard drugs) * Food allergies for products that we use in the study * Participation in another clinical trial at the same time * Being an employee of the Food, Health & Consumer Research group of Wageningen Food & Biobased Research or dept. human nutrition and health of Wageningen University.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
change in fasting plasma glucose concentrationsBaseline (before supplementation (T0)), after 4 weeks (T2), 8 weeks (T3) and 12 weeks (T4)marker for glucose metabolism

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
change in HbA1cBaseline (before supplementation (T0)), after 4 weeks (T2), 8 weeks (T3) and 12 weeks (T4)marker for glucose metabolism
change in 2hour plasma glucose concentrations after a 75-gram OGTTBaseline (before supplementation (T0)) and after 12 weeks (T4)marker for glucose metabolism
change in insulinBaseline (before supplementation (T0)), after 4 weeks (T2), 8 weeks (T3) and 12 weeks (T4)marker for glucose metabolism
change in HOMA-IR levelsBaseline (before supplementation (T0)), after 4 weeks (T2), 8 weeks (T3) and 12 weeks (T4)marker for glucose metabolism
change in HOMA-B levelsBaseline (before supplementation (T0)), after 4 weeks (T2), 8 weeks (T3) and 12 weeks (T4)marker for glucose metabolism

Other

MeasureTime frameDescription
change in eGFRBaseline (before supplementation (T0)), after 4 weeks (T2), 8 weeks (T3) and 12 weeks (T4)estimated glomerular filtration rate (study safety parameter)
change in creatinineBaseline (before supplementation (T0)), after 4 weeks (T2), 8 weeks (T3) and 12 weeks (T4)kidney function (study safety parameter)
change in ASATBaseline (before supplementation (T0)), after 4 weeks (T2), 8 weeks (T3) and 12 weeks (T4)liver enzyme (study safety parameter)
change in ALATBaseline (before supplementation (T0)), after 4 weeks (T2), 8 weeks (T3) and 12 weeks (T4)liver enzyme (study safety parameter)

Countries

Netherlands

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026